Every Tuesday our Augusta IT Guys share a new tech tip to help you streamline your technology use. These simple tips and tricks can make your life easier!
If you are working with seniors on their computers or phones, try to explain tech terms in a way they understand. It will take them a little while to get used to some of the tech terms, but it’s important they are able to use it.
1. Change Your Password
Keeping your passwords secure is an important part of protecting your data. If hackers are able to access your account, they can gain access to a lot of information. This is why it’s important to change your password regularly.
A good password should be unique for each account and difficult to guess. It should also be long, and include a mixture of letters, numbers and alternating capitalization.
Passwords that are too short or contain personal information can make it easier for hackers to crack them. Avoid using names, dates, or any other information that can be easily guessed.
Many people also use the same password for multiple accounts, which can make it easier for someone to get into all of them if they know the first one. This can cause serious damage if a hacker is able to figure out one of them and use it to log into all of your other accounts.
If you haven’t changed your password in a while, or if it’s been a while since you logged in to an account, consider changing it today. Even if you’re sure your password is secure, it’s best to be safe than sorry and take precautions now.
2. Reset Your Password
If you can’t remember your password, it’s possible to reset it by using your email address or phone number. You’ll get a link to a page that lets you reset your password, which you can use to sign in again.
To use this feature, you need to know your email address or phone number (or your username if you’re not a TikTok user). You can also reset your password by clicking Forgot password in the TikTok app.
When you reset your password this way, it’s important to use a different password for each of your accounts. This will make it harder for people to guess your login information, which could be used to access other online accounts or services.
For example, if you’re logged in to an email account, and you sign in to Facebook with the same email, that could lead to your social media profile being hacked.
To help protect your account, you can add security questions to the password reset process on your device. These questions are used to verify your identity and keep you logged in.
3. Change Your Email Address
If you have a lot of email addresses, it can be hard to keep track of them all. That’s why it’s a good idea to use a password manager like LastPass, which will keep track of your accounts for you and send you an email when it’s time to change an address.
When you’re switching email services, it’s also a good idea to forward any messages sent to your old address to your new one. This will ensure that you don’t miss any important emails in the months after your switch.
To do this, you need to update your email settings with each service. That includes Gmail, Facebook and Outlook.
First, you need to change your primary email address with each of the services. Go to each site and enter your current address in the box labelled “Email.”
Next, add a new address by clicking on the link titled “Add an email address.” This will send you a code to confirm your account.
Once you’ve confirmed your primary email, it will appear on your profile. You can also change it from the Facebook mobile app (Android | iOS).
Once you have updated your email, it’s a good idea to set up an auto-responder on your old address to let people know about your new one. This will help minimize the amount of spam that’s sent to your old email address.
4. Reset Your Phone
If your phone isn’t working, or you’re ready to sell it, a factory reset can get it back to how it was the first time you turned it on. But it’s important to know how to do it correctly, or you could wipe out all your personal information.
Before you reset your phone, make sure to backup all of your data. That way, you’ll have the option to restore everything after the reset is complete.
You can also try a soft reset to solve minor issues. This will clear out the data from your phone and resolve issues like crashing, incessant rebooting, or memory usage problems.
Another way to reset your phone is through recovery mode, but it may require a password. Be sure to turn it off before you start this process, and use the power and volume buttons to select recovery mode.
6. Turn Off Your Phone
There are several reasons why your phone may stop responding or turning off by itself, such as a software issue or a bug. Regardless of the cause, restarting your phone can help clear away any data that might be causing problems.
Turning off your phone regularly can also help keep it from crashing. This is because every time you use an app or browse the internet, code is added to and removed from your phone’s operating system.
This can create a lot of clutter in your device’s memory. When this data isn’t cleared, your phone can start to run slowly or crash altogether.
You can easily prevent this from happening by rebooting your device on a regular basis.
The best way to do this is to reset your iPhone from a backup. This will take all of your settings and data, wipe it clean, and reinstall it to give you a fresh start.
Another way to turn off your phone is by holding down the side button and one of the volume buttons. This will bring up a screen with a power slider that you can drag to the off position.
7. Change Your Settings
If you want to change the settings for your computer, you can do so from the Start menu or the Windows key on the keyboard. You can also click the gear icon on the left side of the settings menu to open the Settings app. Once you’ve opened the settings window, you can use the search box to find a specific setting.
Changing your computer’s default language is an easy way to customize your computer’s look. Choosing a new language will also set it as the default for built-in menus, apps and other display options. If you’re not sure which language to choose, you can use the Language & Region menu in System Preferences to select a language from a list of available languages. Once you’ve selected your preferred language, follow the instructions below to set it as your default language. This will change the text on your menus and other displays.
